->"''As the countdown to a brand-new channel ends, a brand-new ''Countdown'' begins.''"-->'''Richard Whiteley'''[='s=] first words on the ''Countdown'' debut, alluding to the show's precursor ''Calendar Countdown'' (which aired as a brief regional series in 1981).

The thinking man's game show, and the face of ChannelFour in Britain, having been the first programme aired on the channel in 1982 and running ever since. Two contestants face off in a series of Letters and Numbers Games, each hoping to score more points than the other. Every round is timed to 30 seconds, with a big clock ticking down behind the contestants. It was a companion to ''Series/FifteenToOne'' until that show's demise, and nowadays is with ''Series/DealOrNoDeal''.

'''''Countdown''''' is based on a [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench French]] game much more straightforwardly titled ''The Numbers and Letters'' (''Des chiffres et des lettres'').

The rounds are as follows, with the first two repeated several times:* '''Letters Game''': Each player chooses nine random letters by saying whether a consonant or vowel is requested. In the current rules, at least three vowels and four consonants must be chosen. During the time, the players must make the longest word they can using those nine letters. Longest word wins the points.* '''Numbers Game''': The player requests anywhere from zero to four large numbers (25, 50, 75, or 100) at random. The remaining numbers (up to six) are small numbers with two of every number from 1-10. The computer chooses a random three-digit number that the contestants must achieve using the basic principles of math (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). The player closer to the number wins the points, provided their method is without flaw.* '''Conundrum''': Used to end each show. A nine-letter word is scrambled, and the first player to buzz-in and get it right gets 10 points. In the event that the Conundrum will determine the winner, it is known as a "Crucial ''Countdown'' Conundrum". A second Conundrum is occasionally played as a tie-break.

No relation to the American news show ''CountdownWithKeithOlbermann'', the Australian music show ''Countdown'', or the weekly comic series that was later retitled ''CountdownToFinalCrisis''.----!!GameShow Tropes in use:* BonusSpace: A variant. Any valid nine-letter word awards double the points, for 18 points.* HomeGame: Several, including a DVD version.* Personnel:** GameShowHost: Richard Whiteley is the most well-known [[note]]He was also a presenter on Yorkshire Television's regional news programme ''Calendar'', earning him the nickname "Twice Nightly Whiteley"[[/note]]. He was replaced after his passing by Des Lynam, then Des O'Connor. Jeff Stelling began hosting the show upon the departure of O'Connor. Stelling left the show in 2012, and was replaced with Nick Hewer ([[Series/TheApprentice yes,]] ''[[Series/TheApprentice that]]'' [[Series/TheApprentice Nick Hewer]]).** LovelyAssistant: Primarily Carol Vorderman and Rachel Riley, but the earlier seasons had more of them before Carol took over. [[note]]Carol Vorderman's initial role was just that of checking the working out in the numbers round and providing a solution if the contestants couldn't, carrying the humorous (if slightly sexist-sounding) job title "vital statistician"! (She also shared this role with Linda Barrett in the first two series.) Other hostesses were involved in dealing with the letters and numbers tiles. (They included, at various times: Cathy Hytner, Beverley Isherwood, Karen Loughlin and Lucy Summers.)[[/note]]** StudioAudience** Dictionary Corner, made up of a lexicographer (usually Susie Dent[[note]]Originally the role varied between different lexicographers but Susie is now a permanent fixture, with her own "Origins of Words" segment[[/note]]) and a guest who changes each week.* ThinkMusic: About as iconic in the UK as the ''[[Series/{{Jeopardy}} Final Jeopardy!]]'' music is in America, to the point that people who never even watch the show will start humming it as a hint that you need to hurry up and make a decision). [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9MytO0O_q0 Have a listen]].----!!This show provides examples of:* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Or, as befits the game, books: the grand prize is a dictionary. Not just any dictionary, though, but the [[{{Doorstopper}} full 23-volume leather-bound complete Oxford English Dictionary]]. It's so huge, it actually causes problems for some winners because it takes up ''so much'' space.** The winner of series 31, David Acton, refused to accept the leather-bound dictionary because of his strict veganism. He recieved the dictionary on CD instead, giving the significant difference in value to charity.* ArtificialStupidity: The computer which generates the Numbers Game puzzles has a habit of throwing out ludicrously easy puzzles from time to time, usually by using just two of the six numbers selected. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3I2lafp9LY Here's an example]]. Note that sometimes contestants try to be clever by using all the numbers when only two or three are needed; 9 times out of 10 this backfires and hands the round to the other contestant, who just picks the obvious solution.* BadAssNormal: James Martin, if only for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfa3MHLLSWI this Numbers game]].* {{Corpsing}}: Richard Whiteley loses it while telling a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFbumvpcvuw joke once]]; amazing how he can even make a bad joke funny.* CrossOver: Being as iconic as it is, the game has appeared in ''other'' shows as part of some kind of task — notably to embarrass Creator/AntAndDec on ''Saturday Night Takeaway'', and as a shopping budget task on ''BigBrother''.** A more straightforward crossover happened with ''Series/EightOutOfTenCats'' as part of Channel 4's "mash-up" night in 2012. The format proved so popular that it has developed into a series in its own right.* DidntThinkThisThrough: The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo0lbWhHLys kitten incident]] in one ''Series/EightOutOfTenCats'' crossover episode, lampshaded when they point out that Jimmy didn't think it through.* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: the basic format hasn't changed that much since the show started on Channel 4, but there have been some peripheral changes which make watching anniversary repeats a bit strange. For example the existence of several female assistants instead of one (who essentially acts as co-presenter now), the extending of the show from half an hour to three quarters, no Susie Dent as resident lexicographer with her own "origins of words" featurette, no "Teatime Teaser" book-ending the commercial breaks, and (in the first episode) the fact that things did seem a lot more awkward.** Before Channel 4 there was also an earlier incarnation, ''Calendar Countdown'' which was shown only on Yorkshire Television as an offshoot of regional news programme ''Calendar''. If the pilot (kicking around YouTube somewhere) is anything to go by, the format was a lot different, with rounds not making it into the more famous Channel 4 incarnation and the clock ran for 45 seconds.* FunWithAcronyms: CECIL is the ''Countdown'' Electronic Computer In Leeds. (Unfortunately, it is now somewhat of a NonIndicativeName, given how the program has sinced moved from what used to be YTV, to the ex-Granada studio block in Manchester, and most recently to the new MediaCityUK complex across the river in Salford.)* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: If the word is in the dictionary, it can be used.** Perhaps the most famous occasion: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gBXPUSXGWs A pair of wankers.]] The word has been used by other contestants since.*** Once, Dictionary Corner found a seven-letter word, FUCHSIA. Guess what word is [[PrecisionFStrike right below it in the dictionary]]?** True up to a point - if a really offensive word comes up, they'll redo it. (The "pair of wankers" clip was an out-take, for instance).** Or some of peoples' looks. The panelists during this exchange...-->'''Richard Whiteley''': "And what's yours, Kate?"-->'''Kate Ogilvie''': "Erection."-->'''Richard''': "Erection.... Don't do this to me please, Kate. [[GenreSavvy I don't want to be on any more]] [[HilariousOuttakes late-night blooper shows]]!"* GoldenSnitch: Parodied in one of the ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' editions, where the team of Bob Mortimer and Lee Mack (trailing 54-0) seemingly arbitrarily persuade host Jimmy Carr (with some help from Joe Wilkinson) to make the final conundrum worth 100 points. [[spoiler: They still manage to lose the conundrum anyway.]]* LongRunner: Compared to some, pretty short, but it's Channel4's longest-running show -- partly because it was the first thing ever shown on the channel.* LuckBasedMission: Even with the Scrabble-like distribution of letters, forming long words can be tricky. Likewise, not all Numbers Game combinations are possible.* MeaningfulName: Two people named Des have hosted the show, and there are two 'Des' in the title of the original French show, ''Des Chiffres et Des Lettres''.* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: On a crossover show with ''Series/EightOutOfTenCats'' Jimmy Carr's attempt to distract the panel with [[http://youtu.be/Qo0lbWhHLys two baskets of kittens]] quickly went south when he couldn't control them.* PungeonMaster: Richard Whiteley.* SeriousBusiness: If the two players are within 10 points of each other for the final Conundrum, it becomes a Crucial ''Countdown'' Conundrum, and the lights dim to emphasize.* ShipTease: Considering how much Richard and Carol seemed to get along on-air, this isn't surprising. To a lesser extent, Des O' and Carol.* SignificantAnagram: The longer the word, the more points it is worth. Conundrum anagrams are worth 10. On the rare occasion that the 9 letters randomly drawn in a Letters Game can be rearranged to form a 9-letter word, it is worth a whopping 18 points to the contestant who spots it..* TakeThat: When Preston North End got relegated from the Championship, a producer who was a Blackpool fan assembled the Conundrum "[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/12/blackpool-fans-mock-preston-countdown PNECRISIS]]".* TimedMission: All rounds last 30 seconds.----